RYLIE

I SMILED LIKE an idiot as I bolted through the doors of home. Everything felt so magical. Today was an amazing day and I was looking forward to many more days like this. My mom, who was in the living room while on her phone, could tell.

"You seem a little happier than usual," Mom raised an eyebrow as she turned away from her phone, gesturing to me to take a seat next to her. "What's going on?"

"You know what's going on," I began as I sat down. "I went on a little date. It was nice."

"Oh, really? Did he confess his love to you?" Mom persisted.

"He did . . ." I said as I clutched my fingers.

"Nice, but like I said, don't grow up too fast. I don't need any surprises coming from you anytime soon," Mom reminded sternly.

"I know, I know," I nagged, my brain automatically triggered. I knew exactly what she was talking about when she said "surprises". Did she actually think I'd start doing that so soon? It's barely been even thirty minutes since we officially started dating, however, Mom is just looking out for me, as any mother should.

The room grew quiet again. Mom's phone pinged, tempting her to check what notification was on it. Her eyes lit up as she turned to me. "Remember when I said that I would arrange a time for you to properly meet Kaden?"

"Yeah . . ." My voice trailed off, an eyebrow cocked. "Why?"

"It's because tomorrow, he's inviting us over for dinner at his place," Mom chirped. My mood was the complete opposite.

"He's probably going to order food and have us eat it or something," I insisted with a disapproving sigh. "Do we have to go tomorrow, though?"

"Yes, we have to," she cooed, her voice sounding as if I was a baby and she was putting me to sleep. She planted a hand on my shoulder. "Please just give him a chance. He's a really nice guy."

"Sure, whatever," I looked away as I crossed my arms. I still wasn't over catching Mom with her little boyfriend. Everything was a complete surprise—definitely not the good ones everyone decides to keep you from on your birthday.

I still didn't understand it. Is Kaden actually a nice guy like Mom continuously claims him to be, or is he not? Until then, all I have is to think about how dinner would turn out to be.

***

We were at an apartment complex in town the next evening, right near school, too. The apartment complex itself was modern-looking and looked as if it were a few years old. The exterior is painted various shades of brown on the outside. The inside, however, wasn't how I envisioned it to look like. The floors were tile, not the old store-like tile, but a new kind of tile that you'd see in one of those home shows where they transform an old house into something completely new.

Is this seriously where this Kaden guy lives?

As we unboarded the elevator, goosebumps began to crawl all over my skin, like ants. The fact that I'm wearing an entire sweater (a nice one my mom forced me to wear) did no justice. Fear rushed through my veins, not knowing what to expect or what was about to happen. It's safe to say that Mom's little boyfriend is a complete stranger. The time we met . . . didn't count.

"Madeline! It's so nice that you made it," Kaden cheered as the door of his apartment swung open. "You too, Rylie." He extended his arm so his hand could meet mine.

I decided to not be polite, so I shook his hand. His hands were warm and sort of soft. At least they weren't cold, because cold hands just give a whole different feeling, the one that gives you shivers.

The apartment complex was simple. It wasn't all decorated and all. Everything seemed kind of bland, other than the photos hung up on the wall near the fireplace. I took a closer look at the frames, an eyebrow raised. None of the people in the photo looked familiar. The photos consisted of a few people, four maximum, and no one looked like him in particular. Maybe they had younger versions of him. Some of the pictures looked sort of old, judging the poor quality of them. Who would've known? 

The aroma of food floating into the living room from the kitchen prickled my nose. That's when Kaden decided to clasp his hands together and say, "The food is ready now, so shall we get eating?"

"Yes, but I need to wash my hands first," Mom said as she placed her purse on the light brown sofa. "I'll leave that time for you to talk a little." She wandered down the hall, only to disappear within a trace to a room. Specifically, the bathroom. Is Mom actually going to throw me under the bus like that? I don't want to be alone with him.

Only Kaden and I remained in the room. He gestured to me to follow him to the kitchen with a genuine smile. I expected to see pizza boxes or takeout meals on the table, but no. There were various bowls and plates filled with home-cooked foods. My mouth dropped open with shock as he pushed a seat out for me so I could sit down. I didn't expect to see a home-cooked meal. Really, I didn't expect to see much. Did he actually cook all this?

I still couldn't believe it. Not one bit.

The silence in the room was undeniably awkward. I know that I'm not the one who starts conversations, but I'm not pitching in this time. He probably took a hint, so he cleared his throat, "The last time we met was . . . shocking, but it's really nice to meet you, Rylie," he nodded his head as he pulled out a fruit punch from the refrigerator, kicking the door shut behind him. "Your mom told me all about you."

"I see. S-So you're actually her boyfriend?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Next thing you know, you two will get married and you'll become my new dad or something. I just know it."

Kaden stared down at the scarlet red tablecloth plastered across the table as he set the juice down, dazed. I cupped my hand over my mouth, dazed as well. What the fuck did I just say out loud to him?

"You don't have to worry about that anytime soon," he cooed, not seeming offended in any type of way. "I love your mother and all, but I want to wait a little while," he sort of whispered. "You don't have to worry about calling me "dad" or anything. Regardless of what you call me, it doesn't matter."

Good. I just met this guy. Calling him "dad" would be hella weird. Not to mention that I'm not intending on calling him my dad, anyway. Right at that moment, Mom appeared, shaking excess water off her hands.

"I'm back. Did you two have a good talk?" Mom cheered as she shot a convincing look at me. Obviously, she did this all on purpose.

"Yeah . . . we did," Kaden's voice trailed off as he pushed the chair Mom will be sitting in from the table so she could sit down. She snuck him a kiss on the cheek before she sat down, which made me cringe. I shook my head as my eyes focused on the table, not wanting to look up for the rest of the evening. To my bad luck, I wasn't able to.

Kaden said grace before we dug into the meal. It was fried rice alongside fried chicken. To my surprise, it had a zesty taste, the kind that made you want to eat more until you were stuffed. This made me wonder even more if Kaden actually made this.

Soon, to my luck, I'd get answers.

"Kaden, this food is amazing," Mom admired after swallowing a mouthful of fried rice. "You made this yourself? That's phenomenal."

"Yeah, I made it all for you and Rylie," he nodded as he popped open the bottle of fruit punch. "Juice, anyone?"

My mom agreed to have some, but I didn't, mainly because I was too drenched in my thoughts. Everything felt so unbelievable. Little did I know that those thoughts would carry throughout the rest of the evening.

When we were finished with dinner, Kaden agreed to let us stay, but Mom insisted that it was getting late. I was thankful that we'd soon be heading back to the comfort of our small, comfortable home. Kaden wished us a good night and kissed Mom—right on the lips—before we left. I couldn't help but cringe more at what I just saw.

"Now do you see that Kaden is a nice guy?" Mom smiled a little too broadly as we boarded her car.

"I guess," I muttered through gritted teeth as I fastened my seat belt.

"Come on, Rylie. Please be a little more open-minded about this," Mom sighed as she pulled the car out of the parking lot. "I'm not asking you to like my boyfriend. All I'm asking from you is to give him a chance."

I exhaled deeply, but said in response, "Fine."

Maybe I underestimated Kaden a bit, but one thing hasn't changed: I still don't like him.

***

When we got home, I changed into my mix-matched pajamas and lounged on my bed. Today was too much for my liking, but it made me realize that I hadn't really talked to Elias today, so I went through my contacts to call him. Not to tell him about my day, but to just talk.

He answered within the fourth ring, his voice ecstatic. "Rylie! What's up?"

"Not much," I shrugged as I dug my head into my pillow. "What's with you? Did you tell your parents about the prizes you won?"

"Not yet. I'm waiting for it to come in the mail so I can directly surprise them," he informed with a chuckle. "You know, to make it seem like I'm not playing a joke or anything."

"Makes sense," I nodded, even though he couldn't see me nod.

In the background, I could vaguely hear the noises of something falling, like a pot. He most definitely noticed it since he was there, so he addressed it. "Sorry about all the noise," he apologized with a nervous laugh. "I somehow pushed an entire cap of a pot off the counter top while trying to get a glass of water. It was so embarrassing."

"I can imagine, but we've all done something embarrassing once in a while, right?" I assured him with a chuckle. "It's what makes people people."

"You have a point," Elias replied as I could hear the noise of a door shutting close through the phone. "You know, I still can't believe yesterday. I could hardly sleep last night because of it. We're together."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to let it all sink in," I shifted to stare at the ceiling. Right then, my phone pinged. I looked up at the status bar on top, only for my mouth to drop open. My phone is at five percent. There was a feeling in my mind that tempted me to talk with Elias a lot more, but would that last with barely five percent left on my phone? Nope, it won't.

I could get my charger, but I'm sure it's stuffed away in my purse, which is hanging on the doorknob of my room. I wanted to get up to get it, but something was holding me back. I didn't have the motivation to, but I forced myself to get up and get my charger.

Everything fell silent on the phone. In the background, I could hear what seemed to be water gushing out of a tap. He must've been washing his hands or something, so I sighed, "My phone is about to die," I reasoned. "I need to let it charge, so talk to you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," he chirped. "Good night, Rylie."

"Good night, Elias," I cooed before I ended the call.

I plugged in my charger to the wall so I could charge my phone. In the meantime, I lifted a book off my nightstand and started reading from the first page, mainly to let my mind wander to many places. I couldn't help but think of how today turned out. It was a flop and I still couldn't refuse one idea.

I still didn't like Kaden. 

//

Some of y'all are probably wondering why my updates for this story can be fast, yet slow at the same time. It's because for this book, I tend to pre-write chapters, and technically, this one has been sitting in my drafts for months. I just wanted to let you know about my writing process :')

But anyway, I hope all three or so of you readers enjoyed. You seem pretty silent, but no need to be shy. I love reading comments, so if you have any to give, I'd to read them. If not, it's still fine either way